Vietnam seeks expertise from global financiers for HCMC financial center

The Vietnamese government is seeking assistance from leading world banks and financial investment funds to build a financial center in Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s largest economic hub.

At a talk on investment in Vietnam’s financial markets in Davos, Switzerland on Thursday, on the sidelines of the ongoing meeting of the World Economic Forum, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh confirmed the consensus in setting up a research and advisory group on building a financial center in the country.

The group will be led by former German Vice Chancellor Philipp Rösler (of Vietnamese origin), Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, and Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City Phan Van Mai.

PM Chinh urged global groups and funds to share experience and advise Vietnam on selecting suitable models and solutions for the financial center's development; developing financial ecosystems; and raising accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards.

He also asked banks and financial investment funds to assist Vietnam in policy making, promoting startup and innovation, restructuring weak banks, developing infrastructure, and training human resources.

According to Mai, HCMC has plans to build a regional financial center by 2030 and is scheduled to submit to the parliament a legal corridor for it by the end of this year.

The city, which contributes around one fifth to Vietnam’s GDP, will construct more infrastructure, particularly in District 1 and Thu Thiem ward of Thu Duc city where the financial center is designed to be located, while training and attracting talents to meet manpower demands for the center, Mai said.

At the talk, attended by representatives from the Association of Swiss Asset and Wealth Management Banks (VAV), SEB Group, UBS, Blackrock Switzerland, Standard Chartered, Commerzbank Switzerland, HSBC Asia Pacific, Hyosung, and others, participants focused on assessing financial markets in Vietnam in 2023, shared models and experiences in building international financial centers and put forth recommendations for Vietnam.

Claudio Cisullo, chairman of UBS, said Vietnam has the conditions to develop financial centers and stands a chance of making breakthroughs with technologies.

Don Lam, CEO of VinaCapital, one of the leading fund managers in Vietnam, tipped that around 200 members of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) have showed interest in a wide range of businesses in Vietnam and they plan to make a field trip to the country in February 2025.